MINUTES
Student Assembly Residential & Community Life Committee
November 8, 2011
4:30pm — 5:10pm
Goldwin Smith 164
I. Call to Order
II. Announcements
- C4 — Nov. 17 @ 12 Noon-4 PM (WSH & Ho Plaza)
- Undocumented Students Resolution
- Contacts: MeChA and others
- 3 different initiatives
- Endorsement of Dream Act
- Creating safe spaces on campus
- Financial aid initiative for undocumented students
- Gender Neutral Housing
- To provide such an option in the housing lottery
III. Fire Safety Initiative
- Resolution passed unanimously in SA
- Next Step
- Off-campus concerns (i.e. responsibilities of landlords, etc.)
- Possibly requiring video and/or fire safety quiz as part of pre-registration process
IV. Smoking Behavior Investigation
- Greek Sororities
- 12 sororities (1 currently without a house)
- Informally no smoking in house overall
- Only one house follows national chapter rule: no smoking in house or on property
- Greek Fraternities
- Most likely do not follow national rules
- Smoke Free Campuses
- 500+ smoke free campuses in US
- www.no-smoke.org
- Generally involves long process of transition with a lot of prior education
- Main reasons
- Health reasons
- 2nd hand smoke considered Class A Carcinogen
- Littering costs associated with cigarette butts (emptying ashtrays, cleaning areas more frequented by smokers than non-smokers)
- Many campuses have rewarded students for going off campus to smoke (positive reinforcement)
- More of a grassroots movement by student body leads to better chances of succeeding
- Factors to Pay Attention to here at Cornell
- Higher numbers of international students
- On campus locations of graduate students
- Cornell employees
V. Adjournment